COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- On June 15, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) handed over a U.S.-funded COVID-19 test kit to the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo. The test kit carries supplies to conduct 2,000 tests. Valued at an estimated $118,000, the kit contains a RT-PCR machine, the...

WASHINGTON -- The Defense Department is crowdsourcing to find better ways to promote diversity and inclusion.Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper asked for the process as part of his Board on Diversity and Inclusion. The board — chaired by Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett — wants input from...

CAMP H.M. SMITH, HAWAII -- The annual Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense (CHOD) conference, co-hosted by the Republic of Fiji Military Forces and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, will take place virtually from August 24-25 with senior military leaders from 28 countries scheduled to participate.The theme for...

NAVAL BASE GUAM -- USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) pulled into U.S. Naval Base Guam for a Safe Haven Liberty port visit, Aug. 22.The visit is the fifth of its kind, enhancing liberty options for 7th Fleet ships conducting COVID mitigations. U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) along with USS...

U.S. Navy -- U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) conducted a gunnery exercise with the Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Stuart (FFH 153) August 19 during Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2020.U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) conducted a gunnery...

PACIFIC OCEAN -- Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL-755) began participation Monday, August 17, in this year’s exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) following a 37-day Alaska patrol.Ten nations are participating in this year’s RIMPAC, the world’s largest international maritime exercise held biennially in...

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- The Department of Defense has announced Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) as a winner of the 2020 Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence (CINC IEA).The Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence recognizes the...

CAMP COURTNEY, Okinawa, Japan -- Marines with Defensive Cyberspace Operations - Internal Defensive Measures Company, 7th Communications Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, competed in a 12-hour international capture the flag cyber contest hosted by the Royal Thai Armed...

WASHINGTON -- World War II was raging in 1944. American troops were instrumental in the effort to take back France, including the beach landings in Normandy that caught the Germans off guard. American forces took possession of Rome, and a Soviet counterattack pushed Germany back into Poland.In the...

U.S. Navy -- A Sailor from Fiji reflects on his journey from an island in the ocean to sailing oceans across the globe, on a U.S. Navy ship.The Red Sea is a long way from Fiji, where Retail Services Specialist Seaman Peni Tovehi grew up in a small village with his grandparents and five...